bangkokfrog

5 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

"Deputy Transport Minister Omsin Chivapruek, meanwhile, said that the case would be settled if Bestrin Group paid up 718 million baht for the import of the 489 buses plus 230 million baht in fines for the first 100 buses imported." 

 

Someone's Christmas just got very merry. 

 

Ho, Ho, Ho. 

Bestrin would only settle this if they were still able to make money after paying the 40% duty and 230 million baht fine. Seems like there was a lot profit in the deal, and that those in the pay-off chain will have a less than merry Christmas.

48 minutes ago, BSJ said:

I find it quite amusing that some Malaysian crook though that he could slip a BIG one like that past Thai customs.  Let the story unfold and the humour commence!

 

I think you will find that Bestrin Co Ltd is a Thai company which sourced the buses from China and routed them through a Malay entity to avoid import duty. This is a typical corruption tactic where the money flows through a Thai "middleman" which takes a big slice off the top and passes most of it around to the government and political cronies that helped them win the contract.

11 hours ago, Sunderland said:

More money being loaned and people losing jobs every day. 

The economy is certainly not heading upwards any time soon.

Spot on! The only indicators that seem to be going upwards in Thailand are the fabricated tourist arrival numbers. I seem to recall that a few weeks ago the big property developers were begging for government help because there were not enough buyers. It seems their pleas were heard, so now more people will be able to buy grossly over-priced dog-box sized apartments that they stand little chance of being able to pay off.

Well done. A rare positive story with no government spin.

"the company had been notified by the National Council for Peace and Order that Mo Chit Terminal lacked adequate capacity..."

Is he actually admitting that they couldn't figure this out for themselves? Surely a police general would know all there is about running a transport company (NOT!) One of the biggest causes of inefficiency in public sector businesses in this country is  this "jobs for the boys" mentality when it comes to filling senior positions.

“We believe the incident is related to unrest in the region,” Col. Patcharapon said.

I wish the police here would wait for evidence before they speak about a crime. A low, cowardly, despicable act for sure. But what mileage is there for insurgents in this? I suspect that there is more to the story than we are being told. There could be many reasons for this shooting other than this off-the-cuff postulation from the good colonel in order to see his name in print. 'Mafia' debt collecting perhaps... with protection from you-know-you?

"and taken legal action against 20 undocumented foreigners,"

I hope this doesn't mean visitors to Wat Phra Kaew who simply weren't carrying a passport. I know it is the law, but it seems a bit of an overkill if this is the case.

2 hours ago, norbra said:

Maybe due to inaction against sick monk

Or they were getting too close to taking action against someone with friends in high places.

Very clever. I suspect that this is all about tax collection rather than caring for people and offering a tax discount to "promote E-payment". Many small businesses understate / don't pay tax, but E-payment will force them to.

1 hour ago, doremifasol said:

 

Three kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.....

 

At 20 he is ruined for life.

 

 

 

 

And all for a measly 20,000 baht !!!

Well done. Now how about doing something about the men in uniform involved.

You see this sort of thing all over the place and no one ever seems to complain. It may be that the people here are not so much worried about the very real danger, but rather that they have to go to the trouble of ducking under the wires.

"Stating the facts" may (now) be a defense under the Computer Crime Act, but I doubt it will change anything under the ridiculous interpretation of defamation law here.

I understand that in the past the bodies of Thai royalty were put through a special process to enable them to be placed in an urn prior to cremation. However, the wife says that this will not apply to the remains of His Majesty King Bhumibol, which will be cremated in the casket.

Interesting headline. When I saw "Armed motorcycle robbers..." I thought they might have been talking about a police checkpoint.

Who needs a judicial system when you have a section 44.

I totally agree with your sentiment, but the so-called "judicial system" in Thailand is so skewed in favor of the rich and connected that this is possibly the best (and maybe the only) way for justice to be achieved.

The end game seems to be set in place already. The only charges will be under section 112, heard in a military court with no outside observers. Depending on how much her "protectors" have to hide, she will either be found unfit to plead because of insanity or shut away form the world where nobody can get to her. Unless of course she has an unfortunate accident or decides to jump off a building, as some others who had dirt on those higher up the ladder seem to have done.

Well done KMUT and the students involved. From what I have seen, KMUT is greatly under-rated and has much better academic standards in some areas than most of the "name" universities around.

What a crazy country we live in! Where else in the world can people who not only illegally occupy land but also build resorts on it claim to be being treated unfairly when told to move?

110699 out of how many million living away from their home constituency? Not a good sign if the referendum requires a minimum turnout.

When I saw the headline I thought that the hostage(s) must have been taken in a massage shop.

To co-exist in peace, unity and with friendship is, sadly, a pipe dream. This requires that both sides respect each other as fellow human beings having equal rights. I am afraid that at least one side here looks down on the other as being of inferior status and therefore ripe for exploitation. And I can't see it changing in my lifetime.

Great headlines. A 4% gold price increase is a "skyrocket", while a 2.76% stock index drop is a "nosedive". Well done Thai PBS.

Yes, Thai drivers are both ignorant and selfish when it comes to letting an ambulance through heavy traffic, unlike most of the so-called "developed" countries that we come from. But let's face it. The whole attitude toward this and many other problems on Thai roads would change if only the police would do their job.

Thank God we can all rest easy. First an Ebola cure, now containment of Zika. Well done MOPH !!!